View source for Kyoto

{{Short description|City in the Kansai region of Japan}}
{{About|the city in Japan|the prefecture where the city is located|Kyoto Prefecture|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                            = Kyoto
|native_name                     = {{lang|ja|{{nobold|京都市}}}}
|settlement_type                 = [[Prefectural capital]] and [[Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan|Designated city]]
|image_skyline                   = {{Multiple image
|border                          = infobox
|total_width                     = 280 
|image_style                     = border:1;
|perrow                          = 1/2/2/2/1
|image1                          = Kiyomizu.jpg
|alt1                            = Kiyomizu-dera temple
|image2                          = Sagaogurayama Tabuchiyamacho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 616-8394, Japan - panoramio.jpg
|alt2                            = Bamboo Forest, Arashiyama
|image3                          = Kinkaku3402CBcropped.jpg
|alt3                            = Kinkaku-ji temple
|image4                          = Kyoto-Ryoan-Ji MG 4512.jpg
|alt4                            = Rock garden, Ryōan-ji
|image5                          = Katsura-1999-1.jpg
|alt5                            = Katsura Imperial Villa
|image6                          = Torii, Fushimi Inari-Taisha.jpg
|alt6                            = Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine
|image7                          = Lamps at Heian Jingu.jpg
|alt7                            = Heian Shrine
|image8                          = Imperial Palace - panoramio (1).jpg
|alt8                            = Kyoto Imperial Palace
}}
| imagesize          = 
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = From top left: [[Kiyomizu-dera]], [[Bamboo Forest (Kyoto, Japan)|Bamboo Forest]] of [[Arashiyama]], [[Kinkaku-ji]], [[Dry garden]] of [[Ryōan-ji]], [[Katsura Imperial Villa]], Senbon [[torii]] gates of [[Fushimi Inari-taisha|Fushimi Inari-Taisha]], [[Heian Shrine]] and [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]]
| image_flag         = Flag of Kyoto City.svg
| flag_alt           = 
| image_seal         = Emblem of Kyoto, Kyoto.svg
| seal_alt           = 
| seal_type          = Emblem
| image_shield       = 
| shield_alt         = 
| image_blank_emblem = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_map          = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|type=shape|stroke-width=2|stroke-color=#000000|zoom=8}}
| image_map1         = Kyoto in Kyoto Prefecture Ja.svg
| map_alt1           = 
| map_caption1       = Location of Kyoto in [[Kyoto Prefecture]]
| image_dot_map      = 
| pushpin_map        = #Japan#Asia#World
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_map_alt    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = &nbsp;
| pushpin_relief     = 1
| coordinates        = {{coord|35|0|42|N|135|46|6|E|region:JP-26|display=it}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flagcountry|Japan}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[List of regions of Japan|Region]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Kansai region|Kansai]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Prefectures of Japan|Prefecture]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Kyoto Prefecture]]
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 794
| founder            = 
| named_for          = 
| seat_type          = 
| seat               = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[Mayor–council government|Mayor–council]]
| governing_body     = Kyoto City Assembly
| leader_party       = 
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = [[Koji Matsui (politician)|Kōji Matsui]]
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| total_type         = 
| unit_pref          = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 827.83
| area_total_sq_mi   = 
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_land_sq_mi    = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_sq_mi   = 
| area_water_percent = 
| area_note          = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 
| elevation_max_footnotes = 
| elevation_max_m    = 971
| elevation_min_footnotes = 
| elevation_min_m    = 9
| population_as_of   = October 1, 2020
| population_footnotes = <ref name="2020population">{{cite web |url=https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/2020/summary.html |title=2020 Population Census |access-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716080414/https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/2020/summary.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_total   = 1463723
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_est     = 
| population_rank    = [[List of cities in Japan|9th in Japan]]
| population_metro_footnotes = <ref name="2020population"/><ref name="range">{{Cite web|title = 京都都市圏の範囲及び取組|url = http://www.kyoto-toshiken.jp/about/|publisher = 京都都市圏自治体ネットワーク|language = ja|access-date = July 16, 2022|archive-date = April 24, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170424003753/http://www.kyoto-toshiken.jp/about/|url-status = dead}}</ref>
| population_metro   = 3783014
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = 
| population_density = 
| population_density_rank = 
| population_blank1_title = 
| population_blank1  = 
| population_density_blank1_km2 = 
| population_density_blank1_sq_mi = 
| timezone1          = [[Japan Standard Time]]
| utc_offset1        = +9
| postal_code_type   = 
| postal_code        = 
| area_code_type     = 
| area_code          = 
| blank_name_sec1    = City Symbols
| blank1_name_sec1   = - Tree
| blank1_info_sec1   = [[Salix babylonica#Horticultural selections and related hybrids|Weeping Willow]], [[Acer palmatum|Japanese Maple]] and [[Cercidiphyllum japonicum|Katsura]]
| blank2_name_sec1   = - Flower
| blank2_info_sec1   = [[Camellia]], [[Azalea]] and [[Cherry blossom]]
| blank_name_sec2    = 
| blank_info_sec2    = 
| blank1_name_sec2   = 
| blank1_info_sec2   = 
| website            = {{URL|https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/|city.kyoto.lg.jp}}
| footnotes          = 
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = Kyoto
| pic = Kyoto (Chinese characters).svg
| piccap = "Kyoto" in ''[[kanji]]''
| picupright = 0.425
| kanji = 京都
| l = Capital City
| revhep = Kyōto
| kunrei = Kyouto
}}

'''Kyoto''' ({{IPAc-en|k|i|.|ˈ|oʊ|.|t|oʊ}}<ref name=wells>{{cite book |editor-last=Wells |editor-first=John |editor-link=John C. Wells |title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary |publisher=Pearson Longman |edition=3rd |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}}</ref> or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|j|oʊ|.|t|oʊ}};<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kyoto |title=Kyoto <nowiki>|</nowiki> Definition of Kyoto by Merriam-Webster |access-date=May 7, 2020 |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803021234/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kyoto |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Japanese language|Japanese]]: {{lang|ja|京都}}, ''Kyōto'' {{IPA|ja|kʲoꜜː.to||Ja-Kyoto.ogg}}), officially {{nihongo|'''Kyoto City'''|京都市|Kyōto-shi|extra={{IPA|ja|kʲoː.toꜜ.ɕi||Ja-Kyoto-shi.oga}}}}, is the capital city of [[Kyoto Prefecture]] in the [[Kansai region]] of [[Japan]]'s largest and most populous island of [[Honshu]]. {{As of|2020}}, the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it the [[List of cities in Japan|ninth-most populous]] city in Japan. More than half (56.8%) of Kyoto Prefecture's population resides in the city. The city is the cultural anchor of the substantially larger [[Greater Kyoto]], a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. It is also part of the even larger [[Keihanshin|Keihanshin metropolitan area]], along with [[Osaka]] and [[Kobe]].

Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by [[Emperor Kanmu]]. The original city, named [[Heian-kyō]], was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese [[feng shui]] following the model of the ancient Chinese capitals of [[Chang'an]] and [[Luoyang]]. The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869. It was the scene of several key events of the [[Muromachi period]], [[Sengoku period]], and the [[Boshin War]], such as the [[Ōnin War]], the [[Honnō-ji Incident]], the [[Kinmon incident]], and the [[Battle of Toba–Fushimi]]. The capital was relocated from Kyoto to [[Tokyo]] after the [[Meiji Restoration]]. The modern municipality of Kyoto was established in 1889. The city was spared from large-scale destruction during [[World War II]] and, as a result, its prewar cultural heritage has mostly been preserved.

Kyoto is considered the cultural capital of Japan and is a major tourist destination. The [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] of the national government is headquartered in the city. It is home to numerous [[Buddhist temples in Japan|Buddhist temples]], [[Shinto shrine]]s, palaces and gardens, some of which have been designated collectively as a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]]. Prominent landmarks include the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]], [[Kiyomizu-dera]], [[Kinkaku-ji]], [[Ginkaku-ji]], and [[Kyoto Tower]]. The internationally renowned video game company [[Nintendo]] is based in Kyoto. Kyoto is also a center of higher learning in the country, and its institutions include [[Kyoto University]], the second-oldest university in Japan.

==Name==
In Japanese, Kyoto was previously called '''Kyō''' ({{lang|ja|京}}), '''Miyako''' ({{lang|ja|都}}), '''Kyō no Miyako''' ({{lang|ja|京の都}}), and {{Nihongo|'''Keishi'''|{{linktext|京師}}}}. After becoming the capital of Japan at the start of the [[Heian period]] (794–1185), the city was often referred to as [[Heian-kyō]] ({{lang|ja|平安京}}, "Heian capital"), and late in the Heian period the city came to be widely referred to simply as "Kyōto" ({{lang|ja|京都}}, "capital city"). After the seat of the emperor was moved to the city of [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] and that city was renamed "[[Tokyo|Tōkyō]]" ({{Nihongo2|東京}}, meaning "eastern capital"), Kyoto was briefly known as "Saikyō" ({{Nihongo2|西京}}, meaning "western capital"). As the capital of Japan from 794 to 1868, Kyoto is sometimes called the '''thousand-year capital''' ({{lang|ja|千年の都}}).

Historically, foreign spellings for the city's name have included '''Kioto''' and '''Miaco''' or '''Meaco'''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Editorial Paragraphs |magazine=The Missionary Herald |publication-date=April 1887 |volume=83 |issue=4 |page=126}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nussbaum |first=Louis-Frédéric |date=2002 |translator-last=Roth |translator-first=Käthe |title=Japan Encyclopedia |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |pages=649 |isbn=9780674017535}}</ref>

==History==
{{For timeline}}

===Origins===
{{main|Heian-kyō}}
Ample [[Archeology|archeological]] evidence suggests human settlement in the area of Kyoto began as early as the [[Japanese Paleolithic|Paleolithic]] period,<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.kyotofu-maibun.or.jp/data/kankou/kankou-pdf/jyouhou/J101.pdf |script-title=ja:旧石器時代の京都 |trans-title=Kyoto in Paleolithic period |author=Nakagaawa, Kazuya |journal=京都府埋蔵文化財情報 |publisher=京都府埋蔵文化財調查研究センター |issn=0286-5424 |volume=101 |date=November 2006 |page=1 |language=ja |access-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225131124/http://www.kyotofu-maibun.or.jp/data/kankou/kankou-pdf/jyouhou/J101.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> although not much published material is retained about human activity in the region before the 6th century, around which time the [[Shimogamo Shrine]] is believed to have been established.{{cn|date=January 2025}} Before Kyoto became the imperial capital, [[toraijin|immigrants from mainland Asia]] contributed to the development of the area.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

During the 8th century, when powerful [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] clergy became involved in the affairs of the imperial government, [[Emperor Kanmu]] chose to relocate the capital in order to distance it from the clerical establishment in [[Nara (city)|Nara]]. His last choice for the site was the village of Uda, in the Kadono district of [[Yamashiro Province]].<ref name= KEA1910>Kyoto Exhibitors' Association (1910) ''Kyoto'' Kyoto Exhibitors' Association of the Japan-British exhibition, Kyoto, p. 3 {{OCLC|1244391}}</ref>

The new city, {{Nihongo|[[Heian-kyō]]|平安京||"tranquility and peace capital"}}, modeled after Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] capital [[Chang'an]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ebrey |first1=Patricia |last2=Walthall |first2=Anne |title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Third Edition |publisher=Wadsworth, Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-133-60647-5| date=2014| pages=79, 148}}</ref> became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the [[Heian period]] of [[History of Japan|Japanese history]].{{cn|date=October 2025}} Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto ([[Muromachi shogunate]]) or in other cities such as [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]] ([[Kamakura shogunate]]) and [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] ([[Tokugawa shogunate]]), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to [[Tokyo]] in 1869 at the time of the [[Meiji Restoration|Imperial Restoration]].{{cn|date=October 2025}}

===Feudal period===
In the [[Sengoku period]], the city suffered extensive destruction in the [[Ōnin War]] of 1467–1477, and did not really recover until the mid-16th century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/journals/jwh/jwh061p075.pdf |title=Guns and Government: A Comparative Study of Europe and Japan* |last=Stephen |first=Morillo |date=1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913234726/http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/journals/jwh/jwh061p075.pdf |archive-date=September 13, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the war, battles between samurai factions spilled into the streets, and came to involve court nobility (''[[kuge]]'') and religious factions as well. Nobles' mansions were transformed into fortresses, deep trenches dug throughout the city for defense and as firebreaks, and numerous buildings burned.{{cn|date=October 2025}} The city has not seen such widespread destruction since.

In the late 16th century, [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] reconstructed the city by building new streets to double the number of north–south streets in central Kyoto, creating rectangle blocks superseding ancient square blocks. Toyotomi also built earthwork walls called {{Nihongo|''odoi''|御土居}} encircling the city. [[Teramachi Street]] in central Kyoto is a Buddhist temple quarter where Toyotomi gathered temples in the city.
<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="Gallery" heights="130px" perrow="1">
File:Kanō Eitoku - Rakuchū rakugai zu (Uesugi) - right screen.jpg|''Rakuchū rakugai zu'', a 16th-century depiction of central Kyoto including [[Gion Matsuri]] floats (center) and [[Kiyomizu-dera]] (upper right)
</gallery>

===Early modern period===
{{Expand section|date=June 2024}}
In 1603, the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] was established at [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] (present-day Tokyo), marking the beginning of the [[Edo period]]. Nevertheless, Kyoto flourished as one of three major cities in [[Japan]], the others being [[Osaka]] and Edo. At the end of the period, the [[Kinmon Incident|Hamaguri rebellion]] of 1864 burned down 28,000 houses in the city, which showed the rebels' dissatisfaction towards the Tokugawa Shogunate.<ref name= History>{{Cite book |title=Kyoto; its History and Vicissitudes Since its Foundation in 792 to 1868 |last=Ponsonby-Fane |first=Richard |year=1931 |pages=241}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="Gallery" heights="130px" perrow="3">
File:Scenes_in_and_around_Kyoto_Funaki_1.jpg|Scenes in and around Kyoto ({{circa|1615}})
File:1696_Genroku_9_%28early_Edo%29_Japanese_Map_of_Kyoto%2C_Japan_-_Geographicus_-_Kyoto-genroku9-1696.jpg|Map of Heian-kyō, 1696
File:伏見桃山城06.jpg|[[Fushimi Castle]]
</gallery>

===Modern period===
{{Expand section|date=June 2024}}
At the start of the [[Meiji period]], the emperor's move from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1869 threatened Kyoto's economic and administrative standing, prompting the city government and local interests to undertake a coordinated plan to strengthen its industrial base and modernize.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-20 |title=Former Capital: A History of Kyoto Since 1869 |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00994/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=nippon.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-21 |title=Meiji Restoration {{!}} Summary, Effects, Social Changes, Significance, End, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Meiji-Restoration |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==== Key industrial developments ====

* '''[[Lake Biwa Canal]]:''' Construction of the Lake Biwa Canal began in 1885 and was completed on 9 April 1890. The 20 km waterway linked Lake Biwa to Kyoto, supplying drinking water, irrigation, and, from 1895, hydroelectric power for factories and street lighting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lake Biwa Canal {{!}} Search Details |url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/en/R2-01387.html |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=Japan Tourism Agency,Japan Tourism Agency |language=en}}</ref> It also enabled Japan's first electric tram line in Kyoto.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Lake Biwa Canal: A Nearby Lake Boosts Life in the Ancient Capital - Core Kyoto {{!}} NHK WORLD-JAPAN |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2029217/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=NHK WORLD |language=en}}</ref>
* '''Rail, Road and Feeder Canals:''' Branch rail lines connected Kyoto to the [[Tōkaidō Main Line|Tōkaidō]] Main Line, while expanded roadways and secondary canals improved the flow of goods and raw materials. In 1895, Kyoto introduced the country's first commercial electric railway, powered by Lake Biwa Canal [[hydroelectricity]].<ref name=":1" />
* '''Municipal Annexations:''' To secure land for factories, worker housing and public amenities, Kyoto expanded its boundaries in two stages. In 1918 and again in 1931, the city absorbed the neighboring towns of [[Fushimi-ku, Kyoto|Fushimi]], Kii, Kadono and Otagi, extending its jurisdiction beyond the medieval inner wards (rakuchū) into the outer suburbs (rakugai)<ref name=":0" />

==== Adoption of western architectural style ====
Public buildings from the late Meiji era incorporated European and American design elements as symbols of modernity:

* '''[[Ryukoku University]] Main Hall:''' A brick-and-timber structure was closely influenced by British collegiate architecture and completed in 1879.<ref name="western"/>
* '''[[Kyoto National Museum]]:''' It was completed in 1895 and was built in a [[Second Empire style|French Second Empire]] style. At the time, this sparked criticism from local observers who saw the design as culturally discordant, particularly given Kyoto's historical role as the imperial capital.<ref name="western">{{Cite web |title=KYOTO |url=http://architecture-history.org/schools/KYOTO,%20JAPAN.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250322144344/http://architecture-history.org/schools/KYOTO,%20JAPAN.html |archive-date=March 22, 2025 |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=architecture-history.org |url-status=live }}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="170" perrow="2" widths="220" caption="Gallery">
File:Kyoto National Museum (2020) - img 05.jpg|Kyoto National Museum
File:Paris Opera full frontal architecture, May 2009.jpg|Paris Opera from French Second Empire
</gallery>
The modern city of Kyoto was officially formed on April 1, 1889, and by 1932, the [[World population|population]] of the city exceeded one million.<ref name="historical population">{{cite web |url=https://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/toukei/Population/Data/Estimate/Ward/26100.xlsx |script-title=ja:人口・世帯の時系列データ |publisher=City of Kyoto |access-date=April 15, 2018 |format=XLSX |archive-date=October 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017202136/http://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/toukei/Population/Data/Estimate/Ward/26100.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="150" perrow="3" widths="190" caption="Gallery">
File:Kyoto View from Kiyomizudera 1870s.jpg|alt=View of Kyoto from beside the Hondō of Kiyomizudera. – 1870s|View of Kyoto from beside the Hondō of Kiyomizudera – 1870s<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://sova.si.edu/details/FSA.A1999.35#ref124 |website=Smithsonian |title=FSA A1999.35 092: Kyoto: View from Kiyomizudera |author=Lyman, Benjamin Smith |date=2020-08-03|language=en-US |access-date=2022-07-16 |archive-date=2021-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626222834/https://sova.si.edu/details/FSA.A1999.35 |url-status=live }}</ref>
File:Nanzen-ji, Suirokaku (Lake Biwa Canal) -1 (November 2008) - panoramio.jpg|Nanzenji aqueduct
</gallery>

===Contemporary history===
{{Expand section|date=June 2024}}
[[File:230603 Kyoto International Conference Center Kyoto Japan02s3.jpg|thumb|200px|left|[[Kyoto International Conference Center]]]]
There was some consideration by the [[United States]] of targeting Kyoto with an [[Nuclear weapon|atomic bomb]] at the end of [[World War II]] because of the possibility that the city's importance was great enough that its loss might persuade Japan to surrender.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2020-08-04/atomic-bomb-end-world-war-ii|title=The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II: A Collection of Primary Sources |website=nsarchive2.gwu.edu |access-date=September 25, 2017 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116045217/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the end, at the insistence of [[Henry L. Stimson]], Secretary of War in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the city was removed from the list of targets and replaced by [[Nagasaki]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stimson on the Bomb - Nuclear Museum |url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/key-documents/stimson-bomb/ |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ |language=en-US}}</ref> The city was largely spared from conventional bombing as well, although small-scale air raids did result in casualties.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Oi |first1=Mariko |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33755182 |title=The man who saved Kyoto from the atomic bomb |work=BBC News |date=August 8, 2015 |access-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-date=October 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013162151/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33755182 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the occupation, the [[Sixth United States Army|U.S. Sixth Army]] and [[I Corps (United States)|I Corps]] were headquartered in Kyoto.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/macarthur%20reports/macarthur%20v1%20sup/index.htm |title=Reports of General MacArthur |access-date=July 31, 2021 |archive-date=July 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731002414/https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/macarthur%20reports/macarthur%20v1%20sup/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As a result, Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, such as the traditional townhouses known as ''[[machiya]]''. However, modernization is continually breaking down traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the [[Kyōto Station]] complex.

Kyoto became a [[city designated by government ordinance]] on September 1, 1956. In 1994, [[Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)|17 historic monuments in Kyoto]] were inscribed on the list as [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]s. In 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the [[Kyoto Protocol|protocol on greenhouse gas emissions]] ([[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]]).

==Geography==
===Terrain===
{{Unreferencedsect|date=October 2025}}
Kyoto is located in a valley, part of the Yamashiro (or Kyoto) Basin, in the eastern part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands. The Yamashiro Basin is surrounded on three sides by mountains known as Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama (literally "east mountain", "north mountain" and "west mountain" respectively), with a maximum height of approximately {{convert|1000|m|0|sp=us}} [[above mean sea level|above sea level]]. This interior positioning results in hot summers and cold winters. There are three rivers in the basin, the [[Uji River]] to the south, the [[Katsura River]] to the west, and the [[Kamo River]] to the east. Kyoto City takes up 17.9% of the land in Kyoto Prefecture and has a total area of {{convert|827.9|km²|1|abbr=out|sp=us}}.

Kyoto sits atop a large natural water table that provides the city with ample freshwater wells. Due to large-scale urbanization, the amount of rain draining into the table is dwindling and wells across the area are drying at an increasing rate.

===Climate===
Kyoto has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfa''), featuring a marked seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation. Summers are hot and humid, but winters are relatively cold with occasional snowfall. Kyoto's [[East Asian rainy season|rainy season]] begins around the middle of June and lasts until the end of July, yielding to a hot and sunny latter half of the summer. Kyoto, like most of the Pacific coast and central areas of Japan, is prone to typhoons during the summer and autumn.
{{Weather box
|single line = Y
|metric first = Y
|location = Kyoto (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1880−present)
|Jan record high C = 19.9
|Feb record high C = 22.9
|Mar record high C = 25.7
|Apr record high C = 30.7
|May record high C = 34.9
|Jun record high C = 36.8
|Jul record high C = 39.8
|Aug record high C = 39.8
|Sep record high C = 38.1
|Oct record high C = 33.6
|Nov record high C = 26.9
|Dec record high C = 22.8
|Jan record low C = -11.9
|Feb record low C = -11.6
|Mar record low C = -8.2
|Apr record low C = -4.4
|May record low C = -0.3
|Jun record low C = 4.9
|Jul record low C = 10.6
|Aug record low C = 11.8
|Sep record low C = 7.8
|Oct record low C = 0.2
|Nov record low C = -4.4
|Dec record low C = -9.4
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 53.3
|Feb precipitation mm = 65.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 106.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 117.0
|May precipitation mm = 151.4
|Jun precipitation mm = 199.7
|Jul precipitation mm = 223.6
|Aug precipitation mm = 153.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 178.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 143.2
|Nov precipitation mm = 73.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 57.3
|year precipitation mm = 1522.9
|Jan mean C = 4.8
|Feb mean C = 5.4
|Mar mean C = 8.8
|Apr mean C = 14.4
|May mean C = 19.5
|Jun mean C = 23.3
|Jul mean C = 27.3
|Aug mean C = 28.5
|Sep mean C = 24.4
|Oct mean C = 18.4
|Nov mean C = 12.5
|Dec mean C = 7.2
|year mean C = 16.2
|Jan high C = 9.1
|Feb high C = 10.0
|Mar high C = 14.1
|Apr high C = 20.1
|May high C = 25.1
|Jun high C = 28.1
|Jul high C = 32.0
|Aug high C = 33.7
|Sep high C = 29.2
|Oct high C = 23.4
|Nov high C = 17.3
|Dec high C = 11.6
|year high C = 21.1
|Jan low C = 1.5
|Feb low C = 1.6
|Mar low C = 4.3
|Apr low C = 9.2
|May low C = 14.5
|Jun low C = 19.2
|Jul low C = 23.6
|Aug low C = 24.7
|Sep low C = 20.7
|Oct low C = 14.4
|Nov low C = 8.4
|Dec low C = 3.5
|year low C = 12.1
|Jan humidity = 67
|Feb humidity = 65
|Mar humidity = 61
|Apr humidity = 59
|May humidity = 60
|Jun humidity = 66
|Jul humidity = 69
|Aug humidity = 66
|Sep humidity = 67
|Oct humidity = 68
|Nov humidity = 68
|Dec humidity = 68
|year humidity = 65
|Jan sun = 123.5
|Feb sun = 122.2
|Mar sun = 155.4
|Apr sun = 177.3
|May sun = 182.4
|Jun sun = 133.1
|Jul sun = 142.7
|Aug sun = 182.7
|Sep sun = 142.7
|Oct sun = 156.0
|Nov sun = 140.7
|Dec sun = 134.4
|year sun = 1793.1
|Jan snow cm = 5
|Feb snow cm = 7
|Mar snow cm = 1
|Apr snow cm = 0
|May snow cm = 0
|Jun snow cm = 0
|Jul snow cm = 0
|Aug snow cm = 0
|Sep snow cm = 0
|Oct snow cm = 0
|Nov snow cm = 0
|Dec snow cm = 2
|year snow cm = 15
|unit precipitation days = 0.5 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 8.1
|Feb precipitation days = 8.9
|Mar precipitation days = 11.2
|Apr precipitation days = 10.6
|May precipitation days = 10.8
|Jun precipitation days = 13.2
|Jul precipitation days = 12.6
|Aug precipitation days = 9.3
|Sep precipitation days = 11.1
|Oct precipitation days = 9.4
|Nov precipitation days = 7.4
|Dec precipitation days = 8.2
|year precipitation days = 120.8
|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/index.php?prec_no=61&block_no=47759&year=&month=&day=&view= |script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値 (年・月ごとの値) |publisher=[[Japan Meteorological Agency]] |access-date=May 19, 2021 |archive-date=May 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521155555/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/index.php?prec_no=61&block_no=47759&year=&month=&day=&view= |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

===Administrative divisions===
In the 1870s, the city was divided into a northern ward (Kamigyō-ku) and a southern ward (Shimogyō-ku), each working as individual administrative divisions of Kyoto Prefecture. The modern municipality was created by the unification of these wards into the city of Kyoto in 1889.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

Due to the creation of new administrative districts and a number of [[Municipal mergers and dissolutions in Japan|municipal mergers]] that took place between the 1920s and the 1970s, the contemporary city of Kyoto is divided into eleven {{Nihongo|[[Wards of Kyoto|wards]]|区|ku}}.{{cn|date=October 2025}} The central wards, located to the west of the Kamo River, are small and densely populated. The city hall is located in [[Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto|Nakagyō-ku]], and the Kyoto prefectural offices are located in present-day [[Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto|Kamigyō-ku]].{{cn|date=October 2025}}

{| width="810" class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"
! colspan="7" |Wards of Kyoto
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |Place name
!
!
!
!Map of Kyoto
|-
! style="width: 190px;" |[[Romanization of Japanese|Rōmaji]]
! style="width: 190px;" |[[Kanji]]
!Population<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/toukei/Population/Census/2020/#t1|script-title=ja:令和２（２０２０）年国勢調査|publisher=City of Kyoto|access-date=September 5, 2022|archive-date=September 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905065621/https://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/toukei/Population/Census/2020/#t1|url-status=live}}</ref>
!Land area in km<sup>2</sup>
!Pop. density per km<sup>2</sup>
!
|-
|style="text-align: center;"  "width: 20px;" |1
|[[Kita-ku, Kyoto|Kita-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|北区}}
|117,165
|94.88
|1,230
|rowspan="11" |[[File:Kyoto city map.png|alt=|border|center|350x350px|Map of Kyoto's wards]]
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |2
|[[Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto|Kamigyō-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|上京区}}
|83,832
|7.03
|11,900
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |3
|[[Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto|Nakagyō-ku]] (administrative center)
|{{lang|ja|中京区}}
|110,488
|7.41
|14,900
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |4
|[[Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto|Shimogyō-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|下京区}}
|82,784
|6.78
|12,200
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |5
|[[Minami-ku, Kyoto|Minami-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|南区}}
|101,970
|15.81
|6,450
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |6
|[[Nishikyō-ku, Kyoto|Nishikyō-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|西京区}}
|149,837
|59.24
|2,530
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |7
|[[Ukyō-ku, Kyoto|Ukyō-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|右京区}}
|202,047
|292.07
|690
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |8
|[[Sakyō-ku, Kyoto|Sakyō-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|左京区}}
|166,039
|246.77
|670
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |9
|[[Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto|Higashiyama-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|東山区}}
|36,602
|7.48 
|4,890
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |10
|[[Yamashina-ku, Kyoto|Yamashina-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|山科区}}
|135,101
|28.70 
|4,710
|-
|style="text-align: center;" |11
|[[Fushimi-ku, Kyoto|Fushimi-ku]]
|{{lang|ja|伏見区}}
|277,858
|61.66
|4,510
|}

===Cityscape===
Kyoto contains roughly 2,000 temples and shrines.<ref name="fodors1996">Scott, David (1996). ''Exploring Japan''. Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc. {{ISBN|0-679-03011-5}}.</ref> The main business district is located to the south of the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]]. In the center of the city, there are several [[Shōtengai|covered shopping arcades]] only open to pedestrian traffic, such as [[Teramachi Street]] and [[Shinkyōgoku Street]].

The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional [[China|Chinese]] [[feng shui]] following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of [[Chang'an]]/[[Luoyang]]. The [[Heian Palace|Imperial Palace]] faced south, resulting in Ukyō (the right sector of the capital) being on the west, while Sakyō (the left sector) is on the east. The streets in the modern-day wards of Kamigyō-ku, Nakagyō-ku, and [[Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto|Shimogyō-ku]] still follow a grid pattern. Areas outside of the city center do not follow the same grid pattern, though streets throughout Kyoto are referred to by name, a practice that is rare in most regions of Japan.
<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="130" perrow="3" caption="Gallery">
File:Kyoto Skylines from Shōren-in03.jpg|View of Kyoto [[Central business district|CBD]] from [[Shōren-in]] (2020)
File:Skyline of Kyoto at Night.jpg|Kyoto night skyline from [[Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto|Higashiyama]] (2021)
File:Kyoto Kyoto Station 2.jpg|[[Kyoto Station]] (2018)
File:150124 Gion Kyoto Japan01s3.jpg|Gion (2015)
File:Narrow streets of historical part of Kyoto decorated with all kinds of traditional japanese lanterns at a rainy city night.jpg|Ponto-chō (2010)
File:Bottom of the incline, Lake Biwa Canal museum (3477789694).jpg|Okazaki park（2009）
</gallery>

===Demographics===
{{Historical populations
| 1873 | 238,663
| 1889 | 279,165
| 1900 | 371,600
| 1910 | 470,033
| 1920 | 736,462
| 1925 | 860,878
| 1930 | 987,777
| 1935 | 1,117,439
| 1940 | 1,127,870
| 1945 | 1,041,700
| 1950 | 1,130,185
| 1955 | 1,229,808
| 1960 | 1,295,012
| 1965 | 1,374,159
| 1970 | 1,427,376
| 1975 | 1,468,833
| 1980 | 1,473,065
| 1985 | 1,486,402
| 1990 | 1,461,103
| 1995 | 1,470,902
| 2000 | 1,467,785
| 2005 | 1,474,811
| 2010 | 1,474,015
| 2015 | 1,475,183
| 2020 | 1,463,723
|source = <ref name = "historical population" />}}
Kyoto was the largest city in Japan until the late 16th century, when its population was surpassed by those of [[Osaka]] and [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Le Japon à l'exposition universelle de 1878. Géographie et histoire du Japon |author=Japanese Imperial Commission |date=1878 |language=fr |page=16}}</ref> Before World War II, Kyoto vied with [[Kobe]] and [[Nagoya]] to rank as the fourth- or fifth-largest city in Japan. Having avoided most wartime destruction, it was again the third-largest city in 1947. By 1960 it had fallen to fifth again, and by 1990 it had fallen to seventh. {{As of|January 2022}}, it was the ninth-largest city in Japan by population and had led the country in population decrease for two consecutive years.<ref>{{cite news|date=August 28, 2022|script-title=ja:京都市の人口減、2年連続全国最多 「9位転落」が迫る背景は？|url=https://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/articles/-/866385|work=[[Kyoto Shimbun]]|access-date=September 2, 2022|archive-date=September 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901231909/https://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/articles/-/866385|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the population of the city rises during standard working hours, and Kyoto ranks seventh in Japan in terms of [[daytime population]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2020/kekka/pdf/outline_04.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2020/kekka/pdf/outline_04.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|script-title=ja:令和2年国勢調査 従業地・通学地による人口・就業状態等集計結果|publisher=[[Japan Statistics Bureau]]|access-date=August 23, 2022}}</ref>

Approximately 55% of the total population of [[Kyoto Prefecture]] is concentrated in the city of Kyoto, which is the highest ratio among the prefectures of Japan.

==Government==
The city of Kyoto is governed by the mayor of Kyoto and the Kyoto City Assembly, a [[municipal council]].

===Kyoto City Assembly===
[[File:Kyoto city hall.JPG|thumb|200px|Kyoto City Hall]]
The legislative city assembly has 67 elected members, and terms are four years in length. As of 2024, the assembly is controlled by a coalition of members affiliated with the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]], [[Komeito]], and the Democratic Civic Forum.
{|class="wikitable"
!Parliamentary group name
! Number of seats<br>(as of January 18, 2024)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/shikai/meibo/index.html|script-title=ja:議員名簿・京都市会|publisher=Kyoto City Assembly|access-date=February 25, 2024|archive-date=August 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821033321/https://www2.city.kyoto.lg.jp/shikai/meibo/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]]
|18
|-
|[[Nippon Ishin no Kai|Japan Innovation Party]]/Kyoto Party/[[Democratic Party for the People|DPP]]
|18
|-
|[[Japanese Communist Party]]
|14
|-
|[[Komeito]]
|11
|-
|Democratic Civic Forum
|2
|-
|Independent
|4
|}

===List of mayors===
Between the founding of the modern city and 1898, the [[List of governors of Kyoto Prefecture|governor of Kyoto Prefecture]] also acted as the mayor of the city of Kyoto. From 1898 through the Second World War, mayors were nominated by the Kyoto City Assembly and appointed by the [[Home Ministry|Minister of Home Affairs]].

Since 1947, mayors of Kyoto have been chosen by [[First-past-the-post voting|direct election]] to four-year terms. As of 2024, there have been ten mayors elected using this system. While some mayors have resigned or died in office, no mayor has lost a reelection bid in the postwar period. In the [[2024 Kyoto mayoral election]], independent candidate [[Koji Matsui (politician)|Koji Matsui]] was elected for the first time, supported by the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]], [[Komeito]], the [[Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan|Constitutional Democratic Party]], and the [[Democratic Party for the People]].

{|class="wikitable"
! # || Name<ref name="mayors">{{cite web|url=https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/page/0000033357.html|script-title=ja:歴代市長、副市長・助役一覧|publisher=Kyoto City|access-date=February 25, 2024|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519180522/https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/page/0000033357.html|url-status=live}}</ref> || Entered office<ref name="mayors"/> || Left office<ref name="mayors"/>
|-
| 1 || Masao Kambe (神戸正雄) || April 7, 1947 || January 6, 1950
|-
| 2 || Gizō Takayama (高山義三) || February 10, 1950 || February 4, 1966
|-
| 3 || Seiichi Inoue (井上清一) || February 5, 1966 || January 8, 1967
|-
| 4 || Kiyoshi Tomii (富井清) || February 28, 1967 || February 25, 1971 
|-
| 5 || Motoki Funahashi (舩橋求己) || February 26, 1971 || July 26, 1981
|-
| 6 || Masahiko Imagawa (今川正彦) || September 1, 1981 || August 29, 1989
|-
| 7 || Tomoyuki Tanabe (田邊朋之) || August 30, 1989 || January 29, 1996
|-
| 8 || [[Yorikane Masumoto]] (桝本頼兼) || February 26, 1996 || February 24, 2008
|-
| 9 || [[Daisaku Kadokawa]] (門川大作) || February 25, 2008 || February 24, 2024
|-
| 10 || [[Koji Matsui (politician)|Koji Matsui]] (松井孝治) || February 25, 2024 || present
|}

==Economy==
{| class="wikitable floatleft"  style="float:right; text-align:right"
|+ style="white-space:nowrap" |GDP (PPP) per capita<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/sna/sonota/kenmin/kenmin_top.html |script-title=ja:県民経済計算 |publisher=[[Cabinet Office (Japan)]] |access-date=October 16, 2017 |language=ja |archive-date=October 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017202328/http://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/sna/sonota/kenmin/kenmin_top.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.oecd.org/conversion/purchasing-power-parities-ppp.htm |title=Purchasing power parities (PPP) |publisher=[[OECD]] |access-date=October 16, 2017 |archive-date=November 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104144219/https://data.oecd.org/conversion/purchasing-power-parities-ppp.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! Year !! US$
|-
|1975 ||{{formatnum:5324}}
|-
|1980 ||{{formatnum:9523}}
|-
|1985 ||{{formatnum:13870}}
|-
|1990 ||{{formatnum:20413}}
|-
|1995 ||{{formatnum:23627}}
|-
|2000 ||{{formatnum:26978}}
|-
|2005 ||{{formatnum:32189}}
|-
|2010 ||{{formatnum:36306}}
|-
|2015 ||{{formatnum:41410}}
|}
[[File:京都経済センター外観.jpg|thumb|200px|Kyoto Economic Center]]
[[File:Nintendo Headquarters - panoramio.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Nintendo]] main headquarters]]
[[Information technology]] and electronics are key industries in Kyoto. The city is home to the headquarters of [[Nintendo]], [[Intelligent Systems]], [[SCREEN Holdings]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screen.co.jp/eng/profile/outline.html |title=Dainippon Screen corporate profile |access-date=March 6, 2014 |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928165950/https://www.screen.co.jp/en/about/outline |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Tose (company)|Tose]], [[Hatena (company)|Hatena]], [[Omron]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.omron.com/about/corporate/outline/ |title=OMRON corporate data |access-date=September 13, 2014 |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222154353/http://www.omron.com/about/corporate/outline/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Kyocera]], [[Shimadzu]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shimadzu.com/about/profile/index.html |title=Shimadzu corporate profile |access-date=April 16, 2014 |archive-date=March 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313185741/http://www.shimadzu.com/about/profile/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Rohm Semiconductor]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rohm.com/web/global/corporate-data |title=Rohm corporate data |access-date=September 13, 2014 |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928165955/https://www.rohm.com/company/about/profile |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Horiba]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.horiba.com/about-horiba/outlines/ |title=Horiba company outline |access-date=September 13, 2014 |archive-date=September 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913122433/http://www.horiba.com/about-horiba/outlines/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nidec|Nidec Corporation]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nidec.com/en-Global/corporate/about/outline/ |title=Nidec company profile |access-date=February 3, 2014 |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303201313/http://www.nidec.com/en-Global/corporate/about/outline |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nichicon]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/company/com_about.html |title=Nichicon company profile |access-date=June 12, 2015 |archive-date=July 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718055705/http://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/company/com_about.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nissin Electric]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nissin.jp/e/about/company.html |title=Nissin Electric company outline |access-date=January 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230135338/http://nissin.jp/e/about/company.html |archive-date=December 30, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[GS Yuasa]].

Domestic and international [[tourism]] contributes significantly to Kyoto's economy. In 2014, the city government announced that a record number of tourists had visited Kyoto.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/topics/2014_6/index.html#4 |title=Releasing the Overall Kyoto Tourism Research Result of 2013 |publisher=City of Kyoto |date=June 18, 2014 |access-date=July 17, 2014 |archive-date=July 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725120916/http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/topics/2014_6/index.html#4 |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result of a sharp decline in tourism during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the mayor acknowledged in 2021 "the possibility of bankruptcy in the next decade" and announced job cuts in the administration and cuts in social assistance, including reductions in funding for home care.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2021/11/13/en-attendant-le-retour-des-touristes-kyoto-cherche-a-eviter-la-faillite_6101935_3234.html |title=En attendant le retour des touristes, Kyoto cherche à éviter la faillite |newspaper=Le Monde.fr |date=November 13, 2021 |access-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119060740/https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2021/11/13/en-attendant-le-retour-des-touristes-kyoto-cherche-a-eviter-la-faillite_6101935_3234.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Traditional [[Japanese craft]]s are also a major industry of Kyoto; Kyoto's [[kimono]] weavers are particularly renowned, and the city remains the premier center of kimono manufacturing. [[Sake]] brewing is another prominent traditional industry in Kyoto, and the headquarters of major sake brewers [[Gekkeikan]] and [[Takara Holdings]] are found in Kyoto.

Other notable businesses headquartered in Kyoto include [[Aiful]], [[Ishida (company)|Ishida]], [[Seven & I Holdings#History|Nissen Holdings]], [[Gyoza no Ohsho]], [[Sagawa Express]], [[Volks]], and [[Wacoal]].

==Education==
{{Expand section|date=June 2024}}

=== Primary and secondary education ===
As of 1 May 2023, there were 154 municipal public elementary schools in Kyoto, with a total of 55,736 pupils. At the secondary level, there were 66 municipal public junior high schools with 27,046 students and 11 municipal public senior high schools with 5,117 students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Educational statistics |url=https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kyoiku/page/0000171194.html |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=City of Kyoto |language=ja}}</ref>  Beyond the public system, the city hosts several private institutions to cater to different international curricula:

* '''Kyoto International School:''' An [[International Baccalaureate|IB]] world school offering a trilingual program in English, Japanese and Korean.
* '''Ritsumeikan Uji Junior and Senior High School:''' Provides the IB program alongside Japanese national courses.
* '''Doshisha International School:''' An IB world school teaching in English.
* '''Lycée Français International de Kyoto:''' Offers French-language education from preschool to high school, integrating French national education standards.

===Tertiary education===
{{see also|Higher education in Japan}}
[[File:Kyoto University Clock Tower.jpg|left|thumb|[[Kyoto University]]]]
Home to 40 institutions of [[higher education]], Kyoto is one of the academic centers in Japan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/world/asia/kyoto-uses-its-many-charms-to-attract-foreign-students.html |title=Kyoto Uses Its Many Charms to Attract Foreign Students |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2014 |access-date=March 2, 2017 |archive-date=October 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005152621/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/world/asia/kyoto-uses-its-many-charms-to-attract-foreign-students.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Kyoto University]] is ranked highly among all universities nationwide, with eight Nobel laureates and two Prime Ministers of Japan among its alumni.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kyoto University |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/kyoto-university |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Top Universities |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-05 |title=Kyoto University |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/kyoto-university |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}}</ref> The [[Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences]] and the [[Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics]], both part of the university, have been affiliated with influential mathematicians and physicists. Private universities such as [[Doshisha University]] and [[Ritsumeikan University]] are also located in the city.

The [[Consortium of Universities in Kyoto]] is a Kyoto-based higher education network consisting of three national universities, three public (prefectural and municipal) universities, 45 private universities, five other organizations, and representatives from the city government. The Consortium does not offer degrees, but allows students of member universities to take courses at other member universities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.consortium.or.jp/english |title=English |publisher=Consortium of Universities in Kyoto |access-date=July 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720152009/http://www.consortium.or.jp/english |archive-date=July 20, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In addition to Japanese universities and colleges, educational institutions from other countries operate programs in the city. The [[Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies]] (KCJS) is a group of 14 American universities that runs overseas academic programs in Japanese language and cultural studies for university students.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kcjs.jp/index.html |title=Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies |publisher=Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies |access-date=August 17, 2022 |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814161734/https://www.kcjs.jp/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Similarly, the [[Associated Kyoto Program]] runs a study-abroad academic program with a focus on cultural, language, and historical learning in and around the Kansai metropolitan area.

==Transportation==
{{See also|Transport in Keihanshin}}

===Railways===
[[File:Kyoto Station building-3.jpg|thumb|The interior of [[Kyōto Station]]]]
Kyoto is served by rail transportation systems operated by several different companies and organizations. The city's main gateway terminal, [[Kyōto Station]], connects the [[Tōkaidō Shinkansen]] bullet train line with five [[JR West]] lines, a [[Kintetsu Railway|Kintetsu]] line, and a municipal subway line.

The [[Keihan Electric Railway]], the [[Hankyu Railway]], and other rail networks also offer frequent services within the city and to other cities and suburbs in the [[Kinki]] region. Although Kyoto does not have its own commercial airport, the limited express [[Haruka (train)|''Haruka'']] operated by JR West carries passengers from [[Kansai International Airport]] to Kyōto Station in 73 minutes.<ref>[http://www.westjr.co.jp/english/travel/kix/index.html JR-WEST: Travel Information > Access to Kansai Airport] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060407004442/http://www.westjr.co.jp/english/travel/kix/index.html |date=April 7, 2006 }}</ref>

The [[Kyoto Railway Museum]] in [[Shimogyō-ku]], operated by JR West, displays many steam, diesel, and electric locomotives used in Japan from the 1880s to the present.

====High-speed rail====
The [[Tokaidō Shinkansen]], operated by [[Central Japan Railway Company|JR Central]], provides [[high-speed rail]] service linking Kyoto with [[Nagoya]], [[Yokohama]], and [[Tokyo]] to the east and with nearby [[Osaka]] to the west. Beyond Osaka, many trains boarding at Kyoto continue on the [[San'yō Shinkansen]] route managed by JR West, providing access to cities including [[Kobe]], [[Okayama]], [[Hiroshima]], [[Kitakyushu]], and [[Fukuoka]]. The trip from Tokyo to Kyoto takes around 2.5 hours, and the trip from [[Hakata Station]] in Fukuoka to Kyoto takes just over three hours by the fastest train service [[Nozomi (train)|''Nozomi'']]. All Shinkansen trains stop at Kyōto Station, including [[Hikari (train)|''Hikari'']] and [[Kodama (train)|''Kodama'']] trains.

====Conventional lines====
[[File:Railway map around Kyoto City.png|thumb|300px|Railway map around Kyoto City]]
;[[Hankyu|Hankyu Railway]]
:*[[Hankyu Arashiyama Line]]
:*[[Hankyu Kyoto Main Line]]
;[[Keihan Electric Railway]]
:*[[Keihan Main Line]]
:**[[Keihan Ōtō Line]]
:*[[Keihan Keishin Line]]
:*[[Keihan Uji Line]]
;[[Kintetsu Railway]]
:*[[Kyoto Line (Kintetsu)|Kintetsu Kyoto Line]]
;[[Sagano Scenic Railway]]
:*Sagano Scenic Line
;[[West Japan Railway Company]] (JR West)
:*[[Kosei Line]]
:*[[Nara Line (JR West)|Nara Line]]
:*[[San'in Main Line]] ([[Sagano Line]])
:*[[Tōkaidō Main Line]] ([[JR Kyoto Line]]/[[Biwako Line]])

====Subways====
{{Main|Kyoto Municipal Subway}}
[[File:Kyoto subway 20 series unit 31 20220506 Takeda.jpg|thumb|A [[Karasuma Line]] subway train at [[Takeda Station (Kyoto)|Takeda Station]]]]
The [[Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau]] operates the [[Kyoto Municipal Subway]] consisting of two lines: the [[Karasuma Line]] and the [[Tōzai Line (Kyoto)|Tōzai Line]]. The two lines are linked at [[Karasuma Oike Station]] near Kyoto's central business district.

The Karasuma Line runs primarily north to south between the terminal of [[Kokusaikaikan Station]] and [[Takeda Station (Kyoto)|Takeda Station]], and takes its name from the fact that trains run beneath [[Karasuma Street]] between [[Kitaōji Station]] in Kita-ku and [[Jūjō Station (Kyoto Municipal Subway)|Jūjō Station]] in Minami-ku. The Karasuma Line connects to the [[Hankyu Kyoto Main Line]] at the intersection of Shijō Karasuma in Kyoto's central business district and to [[Japan Railways Group|JR lines]] and the [[Kyoto Line (Kintetsu)|Kyoto Kintetsu Line]] at Kyōto Station. In addition, the Transportation Bureau and [[Kintetsu Railway|Kintetsu]] jointly operate through services which continue to [[Kintetsu Nara Station]] in [[Nara, Nara|Nara]], the capital city of [[Nara Prefecture]].

The Tōzai Line runs from the southeastern area of the city towards the center, then east to west (''tōzai'' in Japanese) through the Kyoto downtown area where trains run beneath the east–west streets of [[Sanjō Street]], [[Oike Street]], and {{Ill|Oshikōji Street|ja|押小路通}}. The [[Keihan Keishin Line]] has been integrated into this line, and thus Keihan provides through services to {{STN|Hamaōtsu|x}} in the neighboring city of [[Ōtsu]], the capital of [[Shiga Prefecture]]. Within the city of Kyoto, the Tōzai Line also connects to the Keihan lines at [[Yamashina Station]], [[Misasagi Station]], and [[Sanjō Keihan Station]], and to the [[Keifuku Electric Railroad]] at the terminal of [[Uzumasa Tenjingawa Station]].

====Tramways====
;[[Eizan Electric Railway]] (Eiden)
:*Eizan Kurama Line
:*Eizan Main Line
;[[Keifuku Electric Railroad]] (Randen)
:*Keifuku Arashiyama Main Line
:*Keifuku Kitano Line

===Buses===
[[File:Kyoto City Bus 200 Ka 1519.jpg|thumb|200px|A typical Kyoto Municipal Bus]]
Kyoto's [[Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau|municipal bus network]] is extensive. Private carriers also operate within the city. Many tourists join commuters on the public buses, or take tour buses. Kyoto's buses have announcements in English and electronic signs with stops written in the Latin alphabet. Buses operating on routes within the city, the region, and the nation stop at [[Kyōto Station]]. In addition to Kyōto Station, bus transfer is available at the intersection of [[Shijō Kawaramachi]], [[Sanjō Keihan Station]], and the intersection of Karasuma Kitaōji near [[Kitaōji Station]].

===Roads and waterways===
[[File:四条京阪前（バス）, Kyoto, Japan (Unsplash).jpg|thumb|200px|[[Shijō Street]]]]
Because many older streets in Kyoto are narrow, there are a significant number of one-way roads without sidewalks. [[Cycling]] is a common form of personal transportation in the city, although there are few areas set aside for bicycle parking and bicycles parked in restricted areas are impounded.

Kyoto has fewer toll-highways than other Japanese cities of comparable size. There are nine national highways in the city of Kyoto: [[Japan National Route 1|Route 1]], [[Japan National Route 8|Route 8]], [[Japan National Route 9|Route 9]], [[Japan National Route 24|Route 24]], [[Japan National Route 162|Route 162]], [[Japan National Route 171|Route 171]], [[Japan National Route 367|Route 367]], [[Japan National Route 477|Route 477]], and [[Japan National Route 478|Route 478]].

The city is connected with other parts of Japan by the [[Meishin Expressway]], which has two interchanges in the city: [[Kyoto-higashi Interchange]] (Kyoto East) in Yamashina-ku and {{Ill|Kyoto-minami Interchange|ja|京都南インターチェンジ}} (Kyoto South) in Fushimi-ku. The [[Kyoto Jūkan Expressway]] connects the city to the northern regions of Kyoto Prefecture. The [[Second Keihan Highway]] is another bypass to Osaka.

Traditionally, trade and haulage took place by waterway, and there continue to be a number of navigable rivers and canals in Kyoto. In contemporary Kyoto, however, waterways are no longer commonly used for transportation of passengers or goods, other than for limited sightseeing purposes such as excursion boats on the [[Hozu River]] and [[cormorant fishing]] boats on the [[Katsura River|Ōi River]].

==Culture==
[[File:Tsukemono shop by Gavin Anderson in Nishiki Ichiba, Kyoto.jpg|thumb|200px|upright=1|A ''[[tsukemono]]'' shop on Nishiki Street]]
Although ravaged by wars, fires, and earthquakes during its eleven centuries as the imperial capital, Kyoto suffered only minor damage in [[World War II]]. Kyoto remains Japan's cultural center.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/190/0018/19002050018008a.html |date=February 5, 2018 |author=Shinzō Abe |title=Committee on Budget |volume=8 |conference=The 190th Ordinary [[National Diet|Diet]] session |publisher=[[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] |quote=京都というのは文化的な中心 |language=ja |author-link=Shinzō Abe |access-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214172714/http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/190/0018/19002050018008a.html |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kyoto-Japan |title=Kyoto {{!}} History, Geography, & Points of Interest |website=Britannica |access-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-date=January 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104021133/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kyoto-Japan |url-status=live }}</ref> About 20% of Japan's [[National Treasure (Japan)|National Treasures]] and 14% of [[Important Cultural Property (Japan)|Important Cultural Properties]] exist in the city proper. The government of Japan relocated the [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] to Kyoto in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20230327-99865/ |title=After Relocation to Kyoto, Cultural Affairs Agency Starts Operations |newspaper=The Japan News |date=March 27, 2023 |access-date=April 1, 2023 |archive-date=April 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401121144/https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20230327-99865/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Geishas in Kyoto.jpg|thumb|200px|upright=1|[[Maiko|Apprentice geisha]] in Kyoto]]
With its 2,000 religious places – 1,600 [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] temples and 400 [[Shinto shrine]]s, as well as palaces, gardens and architecture – intact, it is one of the best preserved cities in Japan. Among the most famous temples in Japan are [[Kiyomizu-dera]], a magnificent wooden temple supported by pillars off the slope of a mountain; [[Kinkaku-ji]], the Temple of the Golden Pavilion; [[Ginkaku-ji]], the Temple of the Silver Pavilion; and [[Ryōan-ji]], famous for its [[Japanese rock garden|rock garden]]. The [[Heian Shrine|Heian Jingū]] is a Shinto shrine, built in 1895, celebrating the imperial family and commemorating the first and last emperors to reside in Kyoto. Three special sites have connections to the imperial family: the Kyoto Gyoen area including the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]] and [[Sentō Imperial Palace]], homes of the [[emperors of Japan]] for many centuries; [[Katsura Imperial Villa]], one of the nation's finest architectural treasures; and [[Shugakuin Imperial Villa]], one of its best [[Japanese garden]]s. In addition, the temple of Sennyu-ji houses the tombs of the emperors from [[Emperor Shijō|Shijō]] to [[Emperor Kōmei|Kōmei]].

Other sites in Kyoto include [[Arashiyama]], the [[Gion]] and [[Ponto-chō]] [[geisha]] quarters, the [[Philosopher's Walk]], and the canals that line some of the older streets.

The "[[Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)|Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto]]" are listed by the [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]]. These include the [[Kamo Shrine]]s (Kami and Shimo), [[Tō-ji|Kyō-ō-Gokokuji]] (Tō-ji), Kiyomizu-dera, [[Daigo-ji]], [[Ninna-ji]], [[Saihō-ji (Kyoto)|Saihō-ji]] (Kokedera), [[Tenryū-ji]], [[Kinkaku-ji|Rokuon-ji]] (Kinkaku-ji), [[Ginkaku-ji|Jishō-ji]] (Ginkaku-ji), [[Ryōan-ji]], [[Hongan-ji]], [[Kōzan-ji]], and the [[Nijō Castle]], primarily built by the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shōguns]]. Other sites outside the city are also on the list.

Kyoto is renowned for its abundance of delicious Japanese foods and cuisine. The special circumstances of Kyoto as a city away from the sea and home to many Buddhist temples resulted in the development of a variety of vegetables peculiar to the {{Nihongo|Kyoto area|京野菜|kyō-yasai}}. The oldest restaurant in Kyoto is [[Owariya|Honke Owariya]] which was founded in 1465.<ref name="Live Japan">{{cite web |title=Honke Owariya: Inside The Kyoto Soba Restaurant That Was Founded in 1465 (And Is Still Crazy Popular) |url=https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-kyoto/in-nijo-castle_kyoto-imperial-palace/article-a2000017/ |website=Live Japan |access-date=July 18, 2020 |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719011607/https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-kyoto/in-nijo-castle_kyoto-imperial-palace/article-a2000017/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Japan's television and film industry has its center in Kyoto. Many ''[[jidaigeki]]'', action films featuring samurai, were shot at [[Toei Uzumasa Eigamura]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/theme/others/uzumasa_movie/ |title=Welcome to Kyoto — Toei Uzumasa Eigamura Movie Museum |publisher=Pref.kyoto.jp |access-date=March 7, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311205036/http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/theme/others/uzumasa_movie/ |archive-date=March 11, 2010}}</ref> A film set and theme park in one, Eigamura features replicas of traditional Japanese buildings, which are used for ''jidaigeki''. Among the sets are a replica of the old [[Nihonbashi]] (the bridge at the entry to [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]]), a traditional courthouse, a Meiji Period [[kōban|police box]] and part of the former [[Yoshiwara]] red-light district. Actual film shooting takes place occasionally, and visitors are welcome to observe the action.

The [[Japanese dialects|dialect]] spoken in Kyoto is known as ''Kyō-kotoba'' or ''Kyōto-ben'', a constituent dialect of the [[Kansai dialect]]. Until the late Edo period, the Kyoto dialect was the ''de facto'' standard Japanese, although it has since been replaced by [[Standard Japanese|modern standard Japanese]]. Traditional Kyoto expressions include the polite copula ''dosu'', the honorific verb ending ''-haru'', and the greeting phrase ''okoshi-yasu''.
{{Clear left}}

===Festivals===
Kyoto is well known for its traditional festivals which have been held for over 1,000 years and are a major tourist attraction.<ref>Kyoto Visitors Guide (1998). Kyoto Tourist Office, Kyoto City Council.</ref> The first is the [[Aoi Matsuri]] on May 15. The [[Gion Matsuri]] known as one of the 3 great festivals of Japan, culminating in a massive parade on July 17. Kyoto marks the [[Bon Festival]] with the [[Gozan no Okuribi]], lighting fires on mountains to guide the spirits home on August 16. The October 22 [[Jidai Matsuri]], Festival of the Ages, celebrates Kyoto's illustrious past.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Aoi Matsuri.jpg|[[Aoi Matsuri]]
File:Minami Kannonyama Gion Matsuri Yoiyama.jpg|[[Gion Matsuri]]
File:Gozanokuribi Daimonji2.jpg|[[Gozan no Okuribi]]
File:20111023 Jidai 0061.jpg|[[Jidai Matsuri]]
</gallery>

===UNESCO World Heritage Site===
{{See also|Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)}}
The [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] [[Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)]] includes fourteen temples, shrines, and castles in Kyoto dating from between the sixth century ([[Shimogamo Shrine]], though extant structures are more recent) and the seventeenth century ([[Nijō Castle]]). The sites were designated as World Heritage in 1994.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="110">
File:KamigamoJinjya Saiden.jpg|[[Kamigamo Shrine]]
File:Shimogamo 01.jpg|[[Shimogamo Shrine]]
File:Kozanji Kyoto Kyoto11s5s4592.jpg|[[Kōzan-ji]]
</gallery>

===Museums===
{{Expand section|date=June 2024}}
[[File:KyotoBotanicalGarden.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Kyoto Botanical Garden]]]]
[[File:Sitting people reading outdoors at Kyoto International Manga Museum 20080608.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Kyoto International Manga Museum]]]]
{{Div col}}

* Gekkeikan Ōkura Sake Museum ({{Lang|ja|月桂冠大倉記念館}})
* Hakusasonso [[Hashimoto Kansetsu]] Garden and Museum ({{lang|ja|白沙村荘 橋本関雪記念館}})
* [[Hosomi Museum]] ({{lang|ja|細見美術館}})
* Joutenkaku Museum ({{lang|ja|承天閣美術館}})
* [[Kitamura Museum]] ({{lang|ja|北村美術館}})
* [[Koryo Museum of Art]] ({{lang|ja|高麗美術館}})
* Kyoto Arashiyama Orgel Museum ({{lang|ja|京都嵐山オルゴール美術館}})
* [[Kyoto Art Center]] ({{lang|ja|京都芸術センター}})
* [[Kyoto Botanical Garden]] ({{lang|ja|京都府立植物園}})
* Kyoto City Archaeological Museum ({{lang|ja|京都市考古資料館}})
* Kyoto City Heiankyo Sosei-Kan Museum ({{lang|ja|京都市平安京創生館}})
* [[Kyoto International Manga Museum]] ({{lang|ja|京都国際マンガミュージアム}})
* Kyoto [[Kaleidoscope]] Museum ({{lang|ja|京都万華鏡ミュージアム}})
* [[Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art]] ({{lang|ja|京都市美術館}})
* [[Kyoto Museum for World Peace]] ({{lang|ja|国際平和ミュージアム}})
* Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts ({{lang|ja|京都伝統産業ふれあい館}})
* [[Kyoto National Museum]] ({{lang|ja|京都国立博物館}})
* Kyoto Prefectural Garden of Fine Arts ({{lang|ja|京都府立陶板名画の庭}})
* Kyoto Prefectural Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts ({{lang|ja|京都府立堂本印象美術館}})
* [[Kyoto Railway Museum]] ({{lang|ja|京都鉄道博物館}})
* Kyoto Seishū Netsuke Art Museum ({{Lang|ja|京都清宗根付館}})
* [[Kyoto University Museum]] ({{lang|ja|京都大学総合博物館}})
* [[Museum of Kyoto]] ({{lang|ja|京都府京都文化博物館}})
* Namikawa Cloisonne Museum of Kyoto ({{lang|ja|並河靖之七宝記念館}})
* [[National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto]] ({{lang|ja|京都国立近代美術館}})
* [[Nomura Art Museum]] ({{lang|ja|野村美術館}})
* Onishi Seiwemon Museum ({{lang|ja|大西清右衛門美術館}})
* [[Raku ware|Raku]] Museum ({{lang|ja|楽美術館}})
* [[Ryozen Museum of History]] ({{lang|ja|幕末維新ミュージアム 霊山歴史館}})
* [[Sen-oku Hakuko Kan]] ({{lang|ja|泉屋博古館}})
* [[Shigureden]] ({{lang|ja|時雨殿}})
* Tin Toy Museum ({{lang|ja|ブリキのおもちゃ博物館}})
* [[Toei Kyoto Studio Park]] ({{lang|ja|東映太秦映画村}})
* [[Yurinkan Museum]] ({{lang|ja|藤井斉成会有鄰館}})
{{Div col end}}

===Sports===
[[File:Toshi-ya.JPG|thumb|right|''[[Kyūdō]]'' archers participating in the [[Tōshiya|Ōmato Archery Competition]] at [[Sanjūsangen-dō]]]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col"| Club
! scope="col"| Sport
! scope="col"| League
! scope="col"| Venue
! scope="col"| Established
|-
| [[SGH Galaxy Stars]]
| [[Softball]]
| [[Japan Diamond Softball League|JD. League]]
| Wakasa Stadium Kyoto
| 1986
|-
| [[Kyoto Hannaryz]]
| [[Basketball]]
| [[B.League]]
| [[Hannaryz Arena]]
| 2009
|-
| Kyoto Kaguyalyze
| [[Table tennis]]
| [[T.League]]
| Shimadzu Arena Kyoto
| 2022
|}

Kyoto has been the site of many annual sporting events, ranging from the 400-year-old [[Tōshiya]] archery exhibition held at the [[Sanjūsangen-dō|Sanjūsangen-dō Temple]] to the [[Kyoto Marathon]] and the [[Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships]].

Several sports teams are based in Kyoto, including professional [[Association football|football]] and [[basketball]] teams. In football, Kyoto has been represented by [[Kyoto Sanga FC]], a club which won the [[Emperor's Cup]] in 2002 and rose to [[J. League]]'s Division 1 in 2005. Kyoto Sanga began as an amateur non-company club in the 1920s, making it the J. League team with the longest history, although it was only after professionalization in the 1990s that it was able to compete in the Japanese top division. Until 2019, Kyoto Sanga used [[Takebishi Stadium Kyoto]] in Ukyō-ku as its home stadium, but home matches were moved to the city of [[Kameoka, Kyoto]] in 2020. There are also several amateur football clubs based in Kyoto. The amateur clubs AS Laranja Kyoto, [[Ococias Kyoto AC]], and Kyoto Shiko Soccer Club compete in the regional [[Kansai Soccer League]].

Another professional team based in Kyoto is the [[Kyoto Hannaryz]], a men's basketball team in the First Division of the [[B.League]] that plays its home games at the [[Kyoto City Gymnasium]] in Ukyō-ku. Kyoto has also been the home of other professional teams that have subsequently moved or been disbanded. Between 1949 and 1952, the [[Central League]] professional baseball team [[Shochiku Robins]] played home games at Kinugasa Ballpark in Kita-ku and Nishi-Kyōgoku Baseball Park (now known as Wakasa Stadium) in Ukyō-ku. This team eventually became the [[Yokohama DeNA BayStars]]. Kyoto also hosted two teams in the [[Japan Women's Baseball League]] before the league folded in 2021.

[[Company team]]s in Kyoto include two rugby squads, the [[Mitsubishi Motors]] Kyoto Red Evolutions and the [[Shimadzu]] Breakers, which compete in the Kansai regional rugby league [[Japan Rugby League One#Related competitions|Top West]]. In baseball, company teams have competed in the regional JABA Kyoto Tournament annually since 1947.

[[Kyoto Racecourse]] in Fushimi-ku is one of ten racecourses operated by the [[Japan Racing Association]]. It hosts notable horse races including the [[Kikuka-shō]], Spring [[Tenno Sho]], and [[Queen Elizabeth II Cup]].

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan}}

===Sister cities===
The city of Kyoto has [[Twin towns and sister cities|sister-city]] relationships with the following cities:<ref name="Kyoto">{{cite web |url=https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/page/0000083407.html |title=Sister Cities of Kyoto City |access-date=April 20, 2025 |publisher=City of Kyoto |archive-date=March 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315042511/https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/page/0000083407.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
<!-- Note to editors: This list is for sister cities of the city of Kyoto. The following: have a sister relationship with the prefecture of Kyoto and are already listed at the article [[Kyoto Prefecture]]: Shaanxi Province, China; Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia; State of Oklahoma, United States; Leningrad Oblast, Russia; Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom: Tuscany, Italy

In addition, the following are not considered sister cities of Kyoto for the purposes of this list: Edinburgh, Scotland; Lille, France; Seville, Spain; Vienna, Austria. Please do not add them to this list. -->

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Boston]], United States (since June 1959)
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Cologne]], Germany (since May 1963)
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Florence]], Italy (since September 1965)
*{{flagicon|MEX}} [[Guadalajara]], Mexico (since October 1980)
*{{flagicon|UKR}} [[Kyiv]], Ukraine (since September 1971)
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Paris]], France (since June 1958)
*{{flagicon|CZE}} [[Prague]], Czech Republic (since April 1996)
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Xi'an]], China (since May 1974, friendship city)
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Zagreb]], Croatia (since October 1981)
{{Div col end}}

===Partner cities===
In addition to its sister city arrangements which involve multi-faceted cooperation, Kyoto has created a system of "partner cities" which focus on cooperation based on a particular topic. At present, Kyoto has partner-city arrangements with the following cities:<ref name = "Partner cities">{{cite web |url=https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/page/0000073198.html |title=パートナーシティとは |access-date=April 20, 2025 |publisher=City of Kyoto }}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{flagicon|Vietnam}} [[Huế]], Vietnam (since February 2013)
* {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Istanbul]], Turkey (since June 2013)
* {{flagicon|South Korea}} [[Jinju]], South Korea (since March 1999)
* {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Konya]], Turkey (since December 2009)
* {{flagicon|China}} [[Qingdao]], China (since August 2012)
* {{flagicon|Laos}} [[Vientiane]], Laos (since November 2015)
{{Div col end}}

==See also==
*[[List of bridges in Kyoto]]
*[[List of Buddhist temples in Kyoto]]
*[[List of fires in Kyoto]]
*[[List of Shinto shrines in Kyoto]]
*[[Outline of Kyoto]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{See also|Timeline of Kyoto#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Kyoto}}
*Fiévé, Nicolas (ed.) (2008) ''Atlas historique de Kyôto. Analyse spatiale des systèmes de mémoire d'une ville, de son architecture et de ses paysages urbains''. Foreword Kôichirô Matsuura, Preface Jacques Gernet, Paris, Éditions de l'UNESCO / Éditions de l'Amateur, 528 pages, 207 maps et 210 ill. {{ISBN|978-2-85917-486-6}}.
*Fiévé, Nicolas and Waley, Paul. (2003). Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo. London: Routledge. 417 pages + 75 ill. {{ISBN|978-0-7007-1409-4}}
*Lone, John. (2000). ''Old Kyoto: A Short Social History.'' Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-590940-2}}.
*Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869.'' Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
*Ropke, Ian Martin. ''Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto.'' 273pp Scarecrow Press (July 22, 1999) {{ISBN|978-0810836228}}.

==External links==
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{{sister project links|d=QQ34600|c=Category:Kyoto|n=no|b=no|v=Kyoto|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|wikt=no|species=no}}
*[https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp Kyoto City Official Website] (in Japanese)
*[https://kyoto.travel/en/ Kyoto City Official Travel Guide], City of Kyoto and Kyoto City Tourism Association
*{{osmrelation-inline|357794|Kyoto}}
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